Archive of the Day

From I Hate Myself and Want to Die by Tom Reynolds, two excerpts from the chapter on "The River" by Bruce Springsteen:

Many songwriters have a fixation with Americana, which shouldn't be confused with America, the rich nation that runs everything. America is a country, Americana is an existential concept filled with empty highways, waving fields of wheat, smoggy skylines of industrial decay, Graceland, wood-paneled taverns, and rustic characters who never have any money. America is wealthy and powerful, Americana is struggling and underdog. The Western world doesn't really like America very much but it loves Americana, which is the real reason the nations of Europe have never invaded the US, for fear of breaking Elvis figurines.

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I know the chimp-simple lyrics are intentionally written that way to give a voice to a guy with limited education but are we really that interested? Just once I'd love to hear Bruce sing about somebody getting plastered on Cristal and driving a Bentley into a swimming pool.